The Pro Side
Apologies that I am a little late in getting my Sunday Starter posted this morning. Typically, I write and schedule these in advance, but since starting my own business the task seems to get pushed further and further into the week, leaving me finishing most of them on Saturday morning (or more honestly, often on Saturday night). This Saturday, however, I was speaking at an event in Philly and so my time was prioritized elsewhere. I could view this as a failure- oh no, my post went out 4 hours later than it usually does - gasp! - but right now, I am cozied up with my laptop next to the fire, drinking my coffee, and doing one of the things I love to do most: write. If this is failure, then maybe I should fail more often.
No, this is not failure, this is life. While consistency is key, sometimes we need to prioritize other things. Yesterday's event, for example, was a great reason to give myself a little wiggle room because it was something that is in direct pursuit of my big goal to shift my business to focus less on consulting and more on speaking. This event was a Microsoft Community Day with all proceeds going toward the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. I was not paid to speak there and had to give my Saturday up to be able to participate, but events like these are my way of giving back to the community. I also get to attend some pretty great conferences where I get to learn from other amazing people, and I get to network and meet people that I could potentially do business with. I love doing events like these because I enjoy them, but also because I want to take any chance I have to get in front of an audience.
Every time I take the stage I am increasing my chances of overall success. I'm exposing myself, my content, and my business to more people. I'm practicing my speaking skills and gaining valuable feedback for improving. I'm also giving myself the chance of someone seeing me and saying yes, I want her to speak at my company. Anyone who is pursuing a career like mine - a place where not everyone is invited to join - knows that you need to put yourself out there. Think of it like a musician that wants to be discovered but never plays their songs in public. The only chances of that person finding success is if some high-level music exec accidentally stumbles into their barn and hears them sing. While that's a great plot for a Hallmark movie, it unfortunately does not happen in real life. If you want to be seen, if you want to be invited into whatever you are reaching for, you need to get in the game.
It is similar to a putting term in golf called the pro side, which refers to where the ball lands in reference to the hole on the green. If the ball lands uphill and past the hole, this is known as the pro side. If it lands downhill and short of the hole, then that is known as the amateur side. While all golfers would love to just get it in the hole every time, there will always be situations where they miss and statistically speaking, pro golfers all tend to miss in this same way. Amateurs, on the other hand, tend to have more misses that are on the downhill side and that have fallen short of the hole.
So, what do the pros know that the amateurs don't? They know that if you don’t hit the ball hard enough, it has no chance of going in. They also know that if you miss on a downhill side, then your ball has no chance of rolling in. The pros want to give themselves the best chance of getting their ball in and so they know that they need to hit it hard and hit it "high", high on the hill, that is.
I found this to be an interesting business and goal setting metaphor and made me thing of BHAGs - big hairy audacious goals. These types of goals are meant to be a reach for the moon, and we'll land among the stars, kind of thing. The BHAG is supposed to be so big that you likely won't reach it, but by aiming in that way you give yourself the best chance of success. It is the pro side equivalent of goal setting. Like a hole in one, hitting a BHAG is very rare, but you aim far and high, so you have the best chance of landing well.
Everyone can play golf, but only the pros get paid for it.
Everybody can write, but only the pros get to write a best seller.
Everyone can speak, but only the pros get invited to keynote the big stage.
What kind of pro do you want to be? Whatever it is, the path to get there is still the same. You need to play, you need to play often, and you need to hit it hard enough and aim high enough to give yourself the best shot of getting it right.
